I Said I Love You First is a collaborative studio album by American singer Selena Gomez and American record producer Benny Blanco. It is Gomez's fourth studio album and Blanco's second. Following their respective studio albums Rare (2020) and Friends Keep Secrets (2018),it was released on March 21,2025,through SMG Music,Friends Keep Secrets,and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Gracie Abrams,the Marías,Tainy,and J Balvin,with additional contributions from Charli XCX and Finneas.
I Said I Love You First achieved the biggest first-week album sales for Gomez and Blanco's careers in the United States,debuting at number-two on the Billboard 200. It became the first album by a real-life couple to top the Vinyl Albums chart in history. Internationally,the album has charted within the top-10 in 15 counties. The album further received generally favorable reviews from critics;Rolling Stone named the album as one of the best albums of 2025 so far. The album's track "Bluest Flame" received a nomination for Best Dance Pop Recording at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.
Background
The first time Gomez and Blanco collaborated in the studio was for the former's second solo studio album,Revival.[2] For the album,Blanco has production credits on the singles "Kill Em with Kindness" and "Same Old Love". The pair then returned to the studio to record the collaborative single "I Can't Get Enough" with Tainy and J Balvin,which was released in February 2019. Later,Blanco also participated in the creation of Gomez's standalone single "Single Soon",which was released in August 2023.[2]
In December 2023,Gomez officially confirmed her relationship with Blanco,and in December 2024,the couple officially announced their engagement.[2] In October 2024,Gomez stated that she had no date in mind for her next album's release,telling Variety "I currently don't have anything,but I will say music is going to always be a part of me," and,"I don't think any movements are happening right now,but it will always be in my life."[3] Gomez later affirmed "Music isn't going away," and "I just set it down for a second."[4] On January 17,2025,Blanco shared a short clip on TikTok responding to a fan who wrote him,"Benny please make some new songs for our queen." The clip showed Gomez recording music in her home studio.[5] Then on January 23,2025,Gomez shared a video on her social media while working on new music in her home recording studio.[6] After a number of speculations,on February 13,Gomez announced the release of the album on March 21 and released a surprise promotional single "Scared of Loving You" for Valentine's Day. Many different signed,regular and limited CD,LP and 12-inch vinyls of the album were available for pre-order,along with pre-saving on streaming platforms.[citation needed]
Release and composition
Gomez announced her engagement to Blanco on December 11,2024.[7] Two months later,she revealed they worked on a collaborative studio album,writing in an Instagram post:"my NEW album I Said I Love You First with my best friend @itsbennyblanco,is out on 3/21". According to a press release,the album will celebrate "the pair's love story" and "chronicles their entire story—before they met,falling in love and looking to what the future holds".[8]
As part of the album's extended rollout,Gomez made the previously unreleased 2016 track "Stained",available for digital download via her official website on March 22,2025.[15] Two days later,on March 24,a new special track titled "Talk" was released as a digital exclusive;[16] the song had previously been featured in an Apple commercial to promote the iPhone 16e and interpolates Cake's "Never There".[17] Gomez released the Seven Heavens Version of the album for digital download on March 25,featuring the song "That's When I'll Care".[18] The following day,she released the Call Me When You Break Up Special Edition,which included the acoustic and extended versions of "Call Me When You Break Up".[19] She further released two digital limited editions,with live from Vevo recordings of "Scared of Loving You" and "How Does It Feel to Be Forgotten" included respectively. On April 30,she announced the deluxe version of the album,titled I Said I Love You First... and You Said It Back,to be released on May 2.[20][21]
Promotion
Gomez and Blanco revealed the track list of their upcoming album,I Said I Love You First on March 4.[22] On March 19,Gomez and Blanco appeared on Spotify's Countdown To series to talk about the creation of the album.[23]Hot Ones,a YouTube series,released an episode featuring an interview with Blanco and Gomez on March 20.[24] An interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon was released on March 21 to promote the album.[25]
According to the review aggregatorMetacritic,I Said I Love You First received "generally favorable reviews" based on aweighted average score of 66 out of 100 from ten critic scores.[36] Martina Rebecca Inchingolo of the Associated Press complimented I Said I Love You First for its inclusion of guest artists and its experimentation with different genres.[9] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard said that Gomez "at long last adds a compelling new entry to her catalog",[41] while Dakota West Foss of Sputnikmusic called it her "strongest collection of songs to date".[10] Robin Murray of Clash said the album surpassed expectations,calling it "a genuine thrill" and praising Blanco's "world-building capabilities".[14] Both Alexis Petridis of The Guardian and Georgia Evans of NME criticized the album's lack of a clear identity,with the former finding the nature of its songs unmemorable.[13][38]
Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone praised the album for its diversity and versatility in genres and styles,describing the album as:"a valentine that delivers exactly what it promises—a pop icon and a superstar producer celebrating a real-life romance that we all can root for."[40] In addition,Rolling Stone and Complex named the album as one of the best album of 2025 so far.[42][43] For the album's tracks,Billboard named the song "Ojos Tristes" from the album as the tenth best Latin song of 2025 so far,writing:"This stunning reimagining of Jeanette's iconic 1981 hit,"Ojos Tristes" intertwines modern,nostalgic melodies with the enchanting vocals of Selena Gomez. This bilingual collaboration with Benny Blanco and The Marías —with frontwoman María Zardoya's distinctive,warm vocals providing harmonies —yields a lovely track that breathes new life into the original. Gomez's ethereal vocals soar throughout the song,beautifully complementing The Marías' signature sound".[44]
Commercial performance
In the United States,I Said I Love You First debuted at number two on the Billboard 200,with first-week sales of 120,000 album-equivalent units,consisting of 71,000 pure album sales and 64.04 million on-demand streams,making both Blanco and Gomez's highest first-week sales by units overall,as well as Gomez's seventh top-ten effort on the chart and Blanco's first.[45] The album became top-selling pure sales album of the week,topping both the Top Album Sales and Top Vinyl Albums charts,it become the first album by a real-life couple to top the Vinyl Albums chart in history,as well as making Gomez's fourth consecutive number-one album on the charts and Blanco's first.[45][46] In the same week,four songs from the album entered the Billboard Hot 100:"Call Me When You Break Up" (46),"Ojos Tristes" (56),"How Does It Feel to Be Forgotten" (71) and "Sunset Blvd" (97).[47]
Internationally,the album debuted in the top ten in 15 countries,including Australia,Canada,and several European countries. In the United Kingdom,the album debuted at number four,earning Gomez her second top-five album in the country and the first for Blanco.[48] 11 songs from the album make appearances on various official charts including Canada (8 songs),United Kingdom (4 songs),Ireland (3 songs),and 5 songs in the Billboard Global 200.[49]
↑"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 13.Týden 2025 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
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